Obituary: James Russell Ray

James Russell Ray

May 26, 1941 - September 12, 2026

85 Years of age

SERVICE:  Friday, September 18, 2026

                   Calvary Baptist Church, Oak Grove

                   11:30 a.m.

INTERMENT:  Highland Cemetery

VISITATION:  Friday, September 18, 2026

                       Calvary Baptist Church, Oak Grove

                       10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Services for Mr. James Russell Ray will be held at 11:30 a.m., Friday, September 18, 2026 at Calvary Baptist Church in Oak Grove.  Dr. Jeff Floyd will officiate the service and burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.  Serving as pallbearers will be Mike Bennett, Rusty Anderson, Mark Davion, Phillip Nobles, Gary Prach, Richard Watson, Curtis Rimes, and Bruce Owens.

James Russell Ray, 85, of the Oak Grove community, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, September 12, 2026.  He was born May 26, 1941 in Jackson, Tennessee.  He married Zandra Scott Ray, and together they shared 63 years of marriage.

Russell served as a counselor at The University of Southern Mississippi for eight years and as Director of Counseling and Recruitment at Copiah-Lincoln Junior College. He spent his career walking alongside students as they found their path, and he did that work with patience, steadiness, and genuine care.  Russell was also a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Oak Grove.

Those who loved him will remember a husband, a father, and grandfather who took pride in his family, and a man who gave his working life to helping young people.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Dorothy Ray of Waynesboro.He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Zandra Scott Ray; his son, David Allen Ray and wife Julie Britt Ray of Hattiesburg; his daughter, Gwen Ray Larrett and husband Keith Larrett of Palm Coast, Florida; his granddaughter, Breanna Ray Finnley and husband Bryce Finnley of Hattiesburg, his granddaughter, Avery Robinson of Hattiesburg; his grandson, Samuel Robinson of Hattiesburg; and his great-grandson, Waylon Tucker Finnley of Hattiesburg.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Calvary Baptist Church of Oak Grove.